Violence against women and girls: "This matters to us all!"

According to a UN Women UK survey conducted in 2021, 97 percent of women between the ages of 14 and 24 have experienced sexualised violence in the form of harassment in public places. Worldwide, nine out of ten women state that they feel unsafe in public places. According to UN Women Germany, gender-based violence is a pervasive phenomenon that is firmly anchored in patriarchal structures. "Violence against women matters to us all!" - is therefore the headline of this year's UN campaign "Orange the World" between 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and 10 December, Human Rights Day, which aims to draw attention to the fact that these distressing circumstances persist. Orange is a bright and optimistic colour for a future without violence against women and girls. STILL, the Hamburg-based intralogistics provider, is participating in this year's international awareness campaign with various activities. "This matters to us all. And that is why we are supporting the international campaign out of genuine conviction. As a father of two daughters, it is more than shocking for me to see how much violence is still inflicted on girls and women today. This must change very quickly," says Dr Florian Heydenreich, Executive Vice President Sales & Service STILL EMEA.

Commitment to the campaign inside and out

As a visible sign, the STILL headquarters in Hamburg were lit up in orange on 25 November. The STILL national companies in Switzerland and the UK also lit up their main buildings in orange on the day of the campaign.

As a further commitment to the UN campaign, all STILL employees in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) are asked to wear orange for the duration of the campaign or to use an orange background in their video conferences. STILL's Swedish subsidiary is going one step further and will donate a sum of money to a project that supports victims of violence for every employee who dresses in orange. STILL's Swedish managers also organised an activity afternoon for female employees. During the afternoon, two martial arts were introduced with a focus on self-defence. The aim of the activity was to increase the safety of female employees and to boost their self-esteem. In Greece, the issue was also addressed intensively, with a workshop day on "Sexual harassment of women in the workplace" and "Promoting the presence of women in intralogistics".

STILL values embedded in everyday life

"This fantastic commitment within the STILL Group shows me that our guiding principles and values do not just exist in theory. In fact, the values of integrity, cooperation, courage and excellence guide our individual actions and how we work together. And yet, as a company and in the industry, we are not free from wrongdoing. Violence does not always have to be physical, it can also be expressed in words or in the way we interact with each other. This makes it all the more important to take a stand against all forms of violence against people," says Dr Florian Heydenreich.